(Sterling, VA) – Linda Chavez, president of the Center for Equal Opportunity, called on Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to rescind a new policy announced at the company’s annual meeting. The policy would cut the bonuses of managers who fail to meet racial and gender quotas in their hiring and promotions.

“Wal-Mart should forget about the numbers and just hire the best people,” said Chavez. “Wal-Mart is in a politically correct panic because of allegations that it discriminates against women,” she continued. “But proposing quotas as a solution is just as illegal.”

Wal-Mart’s chief executive Lee Scott stated at the meeting that managers would be expected to ensure that the percentage of women hired for assistant store manager jobs, for instance, reflected the percentage who applied. Otherwise, the incentive compensation of the manager would be cut.

“What matters is who is the MOST qualified, not what percentage of minimally qualified people in this or that category apply,” said Chavez. She said that if Wal-Mart does not change the announced policy, the Center for Equal Opportunity would urge the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate the company and would help private plaintiffs find attorneys willing to sue it.

The Center for Equal Opportunity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and education organization that studies civil rights, bilingual education, and immigration and assimilation issues nationwide.